News about our knowledge of the brain and behavior
from Anthony Risser, Ph.D.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Imaging Technologies and Mental Disorders: Potential vs. Use?

From tomorrow's New York Times:

Can Brain Scans See Depression? By BENEDICT CAREYThe New York TimesPublished: October 18, 2005

They seem almost alive: snapshots of the living human brain.

Not long ago, scientists predicted that these images, produced by sophisticated brain-scanning techniques, would help cut through the mystery of mental illness , revealing clear brain abnormalities and allowing doctors to better diagnose and treat a wide variety of disorders. And nearly every week, it seems, imaging researchers announce another finding, a potential key to understanding depression , attention deficit disorder, anxiety.

Yet for a variety of reasons, the hopes and claims for brain imaging in psychiatry have far outpaced the science, experts say.

After almost 30 years, researchers have not developed any standardized tool for diagnosing or treating psychiatric disorders based on imaging studies.